


Unicorn on my shoulder

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 10:45:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2465408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first day of being in the Military Police was FAR from what Annie expected...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unicorn on my shoulder

The first day of a new job is always tough. Especially when someone was the only one out of the top 10 to apply for a very stressful position. This was not how it was planned. Bertholdt was supposed to have joined the Garrison, so that he always had access to the walls. Reiner was supposed to have accompanied Annie into the Military Police. They were both being incredibly daring in disobeying the King’s orders. But Annie was sure she could manage alone. Last night, as the only new recruit to the Military Police this year, she had been directed straight to her new quarters, and introduced briefly to her roommate, Hitch.

”Hey, c’mon! Breakfast is being served! If we’re lucky, we’ll get bacon!” Speak of the devil. Although she usually rose early, Annie wasn’t feeling very friendly after the long, tiring journey yesterday. Hitch was sent flying backwards with a foot to the stomach and groaned from her place on the floor.

"Hoooooooly shit… That was **awesome** ~!” Icey blue eyes slid over to a laughing girl and narrowed. Hitch had managed to right her footing, and was standing next to Annie’s bed, arms on the top bunk rail and leaning inwards. Annie really didn’t appreciate her personal space being invaded, and certainly not in such a deliberate manner.

"C’mon Annie! Rise and shiiiiiiiiiiiine~!" A momentary pause.

"… Aaaaaaaaaannie." She grunted.

"Annie. Annie. Annie. Annie. Annie. Annie. Annie. Ann. Ann. Ann. Ann. Annie _eeeeeeeeee! AaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaannnieeeeeeeEEEE_ EEEEEEeeeeeeee! AAAAA-!” Hitch found herself tackled to the floor and the socks she had left on the floor last night stuffed into her mouth. With a face of disgust, she spat them out.

"Gross! I was only trying to wake you up." A blonde eyebrow raised in sarcastic questioning at the older girl. She rolled her eyes in response, picking herself up off the floor.

"I still can’t believe you put my _socks_ in my mouth.”

"You were being annoying." Hitch clicked her fingers successfully.

"Aha! It speaks!" Another raised eyebrow.

"Of course I speak. Just usually only to people that matter."

"… ouch… Marlowe was right… You really are as mean as you look…" From where she had been gathering her new uniform to change into, Annie glanced over her shoulder. She was surprised to see a genuinely hurt expression on her roommates face, and a flicker of guilt sparked her next words before her brain could tell her not to.

"I’m talking to you now." Hitch brightened considerably.

"Really~?!"

"Lips are moving and words are coming out."

"Well whaddya know~? You have a sense of humour!"

"Hm. Strange that. As it happens, I also have a respiratory system, a brain and-" She was cut off by a distinct rumbling, a pinkish shade coming to her cheeks.

"And an empty stomach, by the sounds of it!" Ice blue eyes sent a silencing glare Hitch’s way, but the teen only laughed. At least if Annie had embarrassed herself in training, no-one would have mentioned it. Her new roommate defied all the norms.

"Hurry up and get changed! I’ll show you to mess hall~." A gentle shove persuaded Annie to do as told, and she felt a strange burst of pride at the insignia on her shoulder pads.

"Whyd’ya choose MP anyways?"

"MP?"

"Yeah! Military Police! You strike me more as a Scouting legion kind of person."

"… I have a duty to perform. What about you, Hitch?" A sly grin, and Annie regretted asking. Her acquaintance waggled her eyebrows.

"Because unicorns are horny, and so am I~."

"…"

"…"

"… PFFFT-" It had been a long time since Annie had truly laughed, maybe a month or so, and she wasn’t able to hold back the peel of laughter that forced its way through her lips. She hunched over a little, small snorts in the jingling sound, with hints of harsh barks of laugher. God, she hated her laugh. But she couldn’t stop once she started. Hitch had a proud grin on her face, please at being able to elicit such a response. It showed Annie wasn’t as stuck-up as she first appeared, and the two adolescents had a chance of becoming friends.

"You are _ridiculous_. You know that right?” Harsh as the words may be, there was a tinkling happiness to Annie’s voice, and her eyes held a glint of humour.

"I’m sure you’ll remind me eeeeeevery day~. Marlowe already does!"

"Who is this ‘Marlowe’ person?"

"You’ll meet him a breakfast! Speaking of which, let’s go, go GO!" There was no time to protest as Hitch grabbed her wrist, dragging Annie out of the room, through the maze of corridors, and into a mess hall. It was… Tiny! Well, compared to the one at training camp.

"Why is it so…?"

"Small? Yeah, that’s what I first thought when I got here. Turns out, when you only get up to ten new recruits a year, and five or so die a month from disease, murder, or cart accidents, you don’t actually need a lot of room! Funny, huh? We’re the safest division, and we still lose more than we gain."

"Hm."

"You’re pretty special, actually, being the only one of your year to join. That’s why you get to stick with me~!"

"…Joy." Before Hitch could conjure a sarcastic reply, she was distracted.

"Ooh! There’s Marlowe! Looks like he saved us some seats!"

"That’s… Quite a hairstyle." Annie had to blink to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. It was… Terrible! In her honest opinion. He noticed the girls as they approached.

"Good morning." At least he was polite. She nodded towards him, returning the greeting silently.

"Marlowe, meet Annie~. Annie, meet The Bowlcut~!"

"STOP introducing me like that. It’s your fault anyways." Hitch shrugged.

"You’re the one who trusted me to cut your hair." Marlowe paused as if he was looking for something to say, gaping like the salmon in the rivers. Then, he turned to Annie with a pointed look.

"Don’t let Hitch near sharp objects."

"Or hair?"

"Or anything you love."

"Duly noted." He offered a hand out and Annie shook it, if only because it was an automatic response.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Annie."

"Likewise, Marlowe." He reminded her of someone. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but he definitely reminded her of someone. Glancing around, Annie could see that Hitch has vanished off surprisingly silently, and was queuing up at the canteen with two trays. Both blonde eyebrows raised slightly. Was Hitch getting breakfast for both of them? Annie was sure that was something only friends did, and she hadn’t exactly been friendly…

"So, has Hitch done anything stupid or embarrassing yet?" Sensing it was okay, she sat opposite Marlowe, turned slightly to the side so that she could rest one arm on the back of the chair.

"Apart from disturbing my sleep, eating her own socks, and claiming she was ‘horny like a unicorn’? No, not yet." An amused snort escaped Marlowe at the deadtone proclamation.

"Well, you survived this far, so I’m sure you can deal with her."

"I’ve dealt with worse."

"Worse?"

"My year of training was… Full of freaks." An amused smile graced Marlowe’s face.

"Aren’t they all? In my year, there was a girl who claimed she could speak to the dead. Always murmuring to herself, performing strange rituals, and being rather aggressive. In the year below, there was Hitch."

"She’s a year below you?"

"Yeah. For some reason, she latched onto us older trainees, and she took a shining to me. I guess I became her motivation, constantly setting standards for her to beat and challenging her. She claimed she’d beat me in position for the top ten."

"Did she?" Marlowe laughed lightly.

"By one mark, yes. She made up for her atrocious rifle skills with endurance and pure determination."

"You speak fondly of her." Annie’s own lips twitched upwards. She briefly wondered if anyone spoke of her in such a warm light. Probably not.

"Of course… She’s a- a friend."

"Just a friend~?"

"Yes. A friend who makes you lose your mind, but in a good way."

"Breakfaaaaaaaaaaast~! Two trays were suddenly placed on the table, and Annie felt her stomach growl in anticipation as she looked over the food. Toast, egg, tomatoes, and bacon. It looked heavenly.

"Is this- Is this a standard breakfast?" Her new ‘friends’ grinned at her.

"Yup~!"

"Benefits of being in the Military Police. Almost makes up for the corruption." Instantly, Hitch turned to give Marlowe and angered hiss, just as Annie felt her stomach drop.

"Corruption, you say?"

"Oh for fucks sake, here he goes." Exasperated, Hitch stuffed her toast into her mouth and moved off to another table, where she was welcomed by a group of girls. Annie turned her attention back to Marlowe, who’s eyebrows were tightly drawn together.

"What do you mean by corruption?"

"We- as Military Police- are to reinforce justice and protect the people, correct?"

"Correct."

"Wrong. That’s what they tell you. But in truth, our faction is full of cowards who manipulate ‘justice’ to benefit themselves. We only protect those rich and disgusting nobles. The people? The people who matter? They’re sent off as sacrifices beyond the walls, fed to Titans to cut down the population so that The King can stuff himself stupid with their food. People are starving, dying, just so one man can hold royal balls and grandeur events for bastards."

"I-… I see…" Annie could feel that pit widen in her stomach, like a black hole swallowing her from the inside. But she couldn’t go back now. She couldn’t change what she was doing.

"Why did you join the Military Police then?"

"I’m going to erase that corruption. I’ll make my way to the very top, and then I’ll change the rules. I WILL protect the people." It suddenly struck Annie who Marlowe reminded her of. Eren. Marlowe reminded her of Eren. It made sense now, with the strong, deterministic views. The similarity in their intent, the strength in their beliefs, and the courage they had to support those beliefs with action.

"Is he done rambling on with that nonsense yet?"

"It’s not nonsense, Hitch! It’s real!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyways, we have to go to drills now. Urrrrrgh, drills…" Without complaint, Annie followed Hitch, highly aware that Marlowe was directly behind. But for some reason, she was comfortable with these two. It suddenly dawned on her that she was going to be okay. She had, for the next few weeks, found where she belonged.

————————————————————-

_I’m sorry._

"I thought we were friends, Annie…"

_I’m sorry._

"All this time… The most corrupt person was standing next to me."

_I’m **sorry.** _

"You’re a fucking liar! A fake!"

_I didn’t **want** to._

"She’s a traitor, Hitch."

_I didn’t **mean** to…_

"C’mon Marlowe. I don’t want to see her again."

_I truly thought of you as my friends…_

"Yeah."

_Please don’t go…_

_…_

_Are you still there…?_

_Marlowe? … Hitch?_

_…_

_…I’m sorry…_


End file.
